Shares in online fashion retailer Boohoo.Com (LSE: BOO) have risen by as much as 8% today after it released an upbeat trading update. In fact, following a strong four months of trading, Boohoo.Com now expects sales for the full year to beat previous guidance and this has clearly boosted investor sentiment in the company.
With sales rising by 45% in the four months to the end of December, the company’s offering appears to be increasingly popular. Encouragingly for its investors, Boohoo.Com’s regional performance was relatively consistent and while gross margins dropped by 290 basis points, this was due to planned investments in pricing as well as in the customer proposition.
With Boohoo.Com trading on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.9, its shares appear to offer good value for money at the present time. With growth potential in the UK market as well as in Europe and the rest of the world, Boohoo.Com seems to be on the cusp of improved financial performance, which should lead to strong share price gains for its investors.
Strong demand for housing
Similarly, housebuilder Bellway (LSE: BWY) also appears to be a strong buy. The UK housebuilding sector continues to benefit from low interest rates, which are set to remain in place over the medium term. That outlook is being reinforced by the current uncertainty in stock markets across the globe, which is likely to make policymakers raise rates at a relatively pedestrian pace.
As such, demand for housing in the UK is likely to remain buoyant over the medium term. This view is reflected in Bellway’s outlook, with the company being forecast to increase its earnings by 17% in the current year. That’s over twice the wider market’s growth rate and with Bellway trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 10.4, there’s vast upward rerating potential.
Furthermore, with Bellway having a yield of 3.1% from a dividend that’s covered three times by profit, it has a bright future as an income stock too.
Big and getting bigger
Meanwhile, BT (LSE: BT-A) continues to follow an ambitious strategy as it seeks to become the dominant quad play provider in the UK. Its £12.5bn acquisition of EE will make it the largest mobile provider in the UK, while major investment in its pay-TV package (specifically in sports rights), plus deep discounting on its superfast broadband offering, are rapidly increasing customer numbers.
Although this will provide significant cross-selling opportunities, there’s a risk that BT is moving too quickly – especially with a substantially leveraged balance sheet and large pension liability. Still, the market is backing the company’s plan, as evidenced by a share price rise of 19% in the last year.
However, its shares now trade on a P/E ratio of 14.5 which, given its in-line forecast growth rate (with the wider market) over the next year, appears to be rather expensive on a relative basis. Therefore while BT could be a strong long-term performer, it may be best to await a lower share price before piling in.
